With the Innocence of a Child
by xxxxxAnimePsychoGirlxxxxx
Summary: Croma fanfic. "I know we'll meet again someday." I whispered softly in her ear. "Please don't go." Her tear stain cheeks and pleading eyes break my heart. "I'm sorry."
1. Chapter 1

**Hello my symmetrical beauties! This is another Croma fan fiction, and I hope it's gonna be a good one! Enjoy!**

**With the Innocence of a Child**

**Ch 1: Run**

That crying little child, who sits in the corner all alone, with no one to talk to, no one to care for them, who's sobs fall on deaf ears, that little child is me. My name is Crona Gorgon, though I don't really feel like the last part of my name, Gorgon, suits me. It's my mother, Medusas, maiden name, as I don't know who my father is, and my mother... I don't think she thinks of me as her child at all. She silences me with her swift strikes across my face, and by locking me a cold dark room, with no food for hours, sometimes days, all alone.

... Well, I'm not actually alone, there's always Ragnarok, always. But I don't think that's such a good thing. He hurts me as much as Medusa, hitting my with his strong little fists. I don't understand why someone who has to share a body with me would always be trying to hurt me. I don't know how to deal with it.

Sit. Sit and wait. Sit and wait and don't talk to anyone. Sit and wait and don't talk to anyone and don't die. That's what she said, but it's so scary here. This ally is so dark, and I can barely see anything. But if I stay in my corner, I'll be safe... Won't I?

"Crona I'm bored!" Ragnarok pops out of my back and complains. "Let's go look around town, we're in Death City, the best city around, let's go eat at a restaurant or something!"

"No Ragnarok, we need to stay here, lady Medusa said so." I rest my head on my knees. "Besides we don't have any money anyway."

"I don't care if we have money or not! I'm not gonna wait around until lady Medusa gets back, we could be sitting here for days!"

"D-days!? She wouldn't leave us for that long, w-would she!?" I start to fidget and shake. 'She can't leave me here, how would I survive? S-she's my mother she can't do that to me she just can't!'

"Hey stop day dreaming and listen to me!" Ragnarok commands hitting me hard on the head. It's best if I just do what he says. "We aren't gonna stay here and sit until we rot, we're going to go into the city and get something for ME to eat, got it?"

"Y-yeah. I got it." I stand up and give my legs a second to wake up before stepping out from behind the garbage can and into the street. There are so many people, more people then I've ever seen in my entire life.

"Ragnarok, I-I don't know how to deal with all these people."

"Don't be an idiot, stupid, there just people, if they try to hurt you we just kill then remember." He gives me a noogie as he explains.

"O-okay..." I still don't feel very good about leaving my corner behind the trash can, and I don't want to hurt anyone. "I-I'm sure nothing will happen."

I take my first step on to the stone road and... I'm okay. The second, third, and seventy-third step are all okay to! The people all smile at me as I go by, and one lady even gave me a little loaf of bread (though Ragnarok stole it from me and ate it). Everyone here is so nice, and not at all like the people lady Medusa tells me about. The dark and evil people who can see all my faults, and who know all the bad things I've done, the people who judge my every movement. She was wrong. Maybe she was wrong about me to.

"Crona I'm hungry." Ragnorok whine, pulling at my cheeks.

"You just ate my bread. How can you be hungry again?"

"First off I'm always hungry, second off it was MY bread, not yours, and third off, shut your mouth and find me some food!" He shakes his fist at me as he says the last part.

"Okay, okay, just please no more hitting."

I start walking toward a stall carrying rice balls, taiyaki, and dumplings. My mouth starts to water as I reach out to take one of the steaming taiyaki. Just as I'm about to take one my hand is swatted at with a newspaper. It stings.

"What do you think you're doing kid!? You can't just take food without paying for it, now either hand over over 506.45 yen or scram!" A large man yells at me.

"Bu-but I don't have any m-money." Why is he yelling at me? What did I do wrong? I don't know how to deal with this!

"Then get out of here! I'm tired of you filthy little urchins always looking for hand outs. Now scram!" He raises his newspaper and I squeeze my eyes shut, I know all to well what's coming next.

"Two taiyaki please."

I open my eyes to see floppy bunny ears. Floppy Bunny Ears!? No, no they're pigtails. And she's a girl, the one who asked for the taiyaki.

"You realize you're gonna have to pay for that right?" The man asks her in the same irritated tone.

She holds up ¥1015 with a smirk. "Is that enough?"

The man snatches up the money with a grumble before handing her the taiyaki. My stomach growls, Medusa hasn't let me eat anything for the past two days, I'm so hungry. I start to walk away but feel a tug on my sleeve.

"You wanted a taiyaki didn't you?" It's the pigtails girl.

I give a small nod. She smiles broadly at me and thrusts a taiyaki into my hands. I finch backward in response holding into the sweet treat for dear life.

"Don't do that, you're gonna break it into crumbs!" She touches my hand softly and my grip loosens. She smiles. "That's better."

"W-who are you? Why are you being so nice to me, I didn't ask you to?"

She blinks at me as though I'm crazy. "I'm Maka Albarn, and I'm being nice to you because..." She pauses in though before going on. "Because that's what my mama would do."

"Y-your mama?"

"Mmm-hmm, my mama is the best, she's strong and kind, and she's the greatest scythe meister next to Shinigami-sama himself!" Her eyes take on a sparkly look to them. Her eyes are a stunning emerald, making my dark amethysts pale in comparison. "Someday I'm Gina be just like her, and I won't stop there, I'll get even better then her, even better the Death!"

I stare at her in awe. She has such big dreams, my dreams are just surviving until the next day.

She looks back at me. "So I told you who I am, now who are you?"

I keep staring at her for a few more seconds before finally speaking in a timid voice. "I-I'm C-Crona Gorgon."

"Crona..." She thinks it over for a second before giving me the biggest grin I've ever seen. "I like it!"

I blush, and my tummy starts to feel all tingle, like I have to use the bathroom but I don't. Trying to hide it I start to eat the taiyaki, taking in big bites of it. It's warm, and filled with chocolate and cream. I eat until there's only crumbs, and then I suck them off my fingers.

"If you're so hungry you can have mine two." Maka hands me her taiyaki and I look at it cautiously.

"Y-you're sure you don't want it?" I fiddle with my fingers and try to ignore the gnawing in my stomach.

She huffs out a sigh before shoving the head into my mouth. "There! Now even if I wanted it back I can't have it."

"That doesn't make any sense!"

No. No, No, No, No, No, No, NO! Ragnorok can't come out no-

"Gimme that taiyaki, I'm the one who wanted it in the first place!" He pops out I'm my back, swiping the taiyaki from my mouth. At least I got a good bite out of it before he stole it.

Maka's staring at, at Ragnarok, at both of us. She thinks I'm a freak, she thinks I'm disgusting, she thinks I'm-

"Cool!" She jumps up to her feet and grabs Ragnaroks cheeks, pulling them into a smile. "What is he?"

"Hey she pig, let me go!" Ragnorok swats Makas hand away rubbing his cheeks. I can't help smiling at how he's blushing.

"This is the demon sword Ragnorok, h-he's my weapon." I look at Maka apprehensively, waiting for her look of disgust, of revolution, but it doesn't come.

"You have a have a weapon! But you look the same age as me, you should be to young to have a weapon yet." She frown before shrugging. "That just makes it even more cooler!"

"Y-you think I'm cool?" I ask shyly.

"Yeah of course."

I blush again. She's so nice to me, no ones ever been this nice to me before. The people in the street where nice to me to, but in there eyes I saw something else. Pity. But in hers, all I can see is admiration. I'm don't know how to deal with it, but I want to learn, because I like it.

"So what are you doing out here exactly she pig? Looking for some truffles?" Ragnarok snickers as he says this.

"Ragnarok be nice!" I scold him as he sinks back into me, before turning back to Maka. Her face has darkened and her hair is covering her eyes.

"I ran away." She says it so quietly that she startles me when she looks up suddenly with tears in her eyes and starts yelling. "Mama and papa got into another fight, so I stole some of papas money, and ran away, and I'm never going back, never ever!"

She starts to sob into her hands, and I reach out a hand to her shoulder. It's awkward but she looks back up at me with a small smile.

"What about you Crona, what are you doing out here?"

I swallow hard on a lump that's formed in my throat. "I-I was waiting for my mother to come back, b-but I don't know when that will be."

"Where did your mother go?"

"I don't know."

"Did she leave you with anyone?"

"No."

She grasps my hands suddenly and I jerk my head up to meet her now determined eyes. "Crona, you should run away with me! We could run away from our families together!"

"Runs away together?" Run away from Medusa, I've thought of it before, but if she ever caught me after, she would, she would- "I can't!"

I jerk my hands away from Makas and curl into a ball. She places a hand on my shoulder. "Why not?"

"If Lady Medusa finds out, she'll beat me worst then ever!" I cover my mouth. 'I shouldn't have said that, now she'll hate me for sure.'

"She beats you!?" She lets out breathy gasp, and I turn my head squeezing my eyes shut. 'She's gonna leave, the only person that ever really liked me is gonna leave.'

I can feel tears prick my eyes.

'Don't go, please don't go Maka.'

Her warm arms pull my head close to her heart, and I can hear the gentle thump-thump-thump that means she's real, this is real. I close me eyes, sinking into her a little more. "Crona, if you run away with me, you wouldn't have to be afraid of her anymore."

"But what if she found us?" I whisper, voice trembling slightly.

She nuzzles her chin into my hair. "I'll protect you, I swear."

I let ailments fall for a few seconds, them a few minute, the an few hours. When the lazy sun is finally yawning in the sky and I can tell that awe'll have to find shelter soon I finally answer.

"Okay."


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello my symmetrical beauties! I got so many wonderful reviews already and I know I need to keep going on this story. I'm hoping to make this my longest one. Just a little FYI, in the story Maka and Crona are eight (symmetry :D) and Crona is a bit older. Anyway, READ!**

**With the Innocence of a Child**

**Ch 2: Hide**

We found a big cardboard box to sleep in that night and put it over a heating vent. The night was bitterly cold but inside the box we were warm. I stayed staring at Maka while she slept with her head in my lap. I ran my fingers through her sandy blond hair, admiring the soft, silky feel. She nuzzles against my leg and I felt butterflies. She was so peaceful, I was so happy, the whole thing seemed so surreal. Inside my head Ragnarok started to talk.

'So Crona, what are you gonna do to the girl?' He asks me.

'What do you mean?' I ask him back.

'Shes sleeping, she's got no weapons, you could easily kill her!'

"N-No way!" I scream in shock. "I would never hurt Maka!"

"Crona?"

Maka lifts her head off my lap and looks at me, wiping the sleep from her eyes. "What's wrong?"

"N-Nothing!" I turn away from her piercing green gaze and begin to twitch. Stupid Ragnarok, he ruined the perfect moment I was having with Maka...even if she wasn't actually awake. She continues to stare at me before poking my face gentle.

"Ya know can tell me anything. We just met but I promise I won't tell anyone." I look at her and see in her eyes that she's telling the truth. But I'm still afraid. She might not tell anyone bet she could still decide to hate me.

"Y-You know how I have Ragnarok?" I ask, facing away again. She nods. "W-Well my m-mother, she make me use him to h-hurt people, a-and even..." I squeeze my eyes shut as I feel the guilt setting in.

Her warm hands touch my chilled face and pull my head to look at her. Her eyes are serious, more serious then an eight year olds should ever be. "Crona, did you want to hurt them?"

I stare at her in shock before my face crumbles and I shake my head no, tears pricking my eyes. She smiles and brings me into a hug. "It's not your fault Crona, your mama made you do it. You didn't want to."

"I-I-I didn't w-want to h-hurt any-one, I-I just w-wanted her to l-love me." I sob out. "B-but she still h-h-hates me!"

Maka rubs my back in small circles as I sob into her shoulder. She hums a soft lullaby and I slowly drift into the land of dreams.

It's dark here, with a slight red tint. I wander around, for what seems like forever, until I finally see a glowing yellow light shining in the distance. For a second I briefly consider that I'm dead and this is the light at the end of the tunnel sort of situation, but as I get closer I can see that it's a tiny glowing orb, with what looks like wings sticking out of it. I touch it and it feels soft and warm against my fingers. I wrap my arms around it bringing close to my chest. I can feel it pulsing against me, is it a heart? I look down at it and see piercing green eyes, a round little nose, and the kindest smile. Maka.

"Crona." The Maka orb cheers to me. "You found my soul!"

I smile down at her. "I found your soul... I found...your soul...your soul..."

My smile fades as my mind puts the words together.

"You know what we do with souls Crona." Ragnarok says in a voice, more menacing then ever before. He suddenly rips out of my chest, at least ten times his normal size. I try to throw Maka's soul away from him, from me, but it's no use. As his teeth come down, trapping her in his maw, I see Makas horrified eyes that seem to scream at me the question that shatters my heart.

"Why?"

"Why? Because you have to Crona. This is what you where born to do." Her voice is all around, swirling inside my head, ripping it open and crumpling it up as small as possible. She sits in front of me, balancing on he arrow tail. "Nake Snake, Cobra Cobbra. You do it, to become the Kishin."

My eyes suddenly snap open. My breathing is rapid and a thin layer of sweat covers my face, not from the heat but my own fear. I whip my head around the small box and panic sets in worst as I can't find Maka. I jump up, bringing the box with me, covering my vision with the slightly molded cardboard.

"Maka ! Maka! Maka where are you!" I scream throwing the box off my head. I whirl my head around fast enough to give me whiplash. She no where in sight.

'She not here, where is she. Did I-Did I-' I break down sobbing again, curlin into a tiny ball. 'I killed her, I killed her, my only friend, Maka, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry.'

"Hey what happened to our house?" I look up to see her standing with two apples in her hands. I smile wider then I ever have as I sun toward her and envelope her in a crushing hug, making her drop the apples. "Hey careful! You don't want to bruise our breakfast."

"Ma-Maka, I was so scared. W-When I couldn't f-find you, I thought I'd done s-something awful." I in out the words still smiling, still holding her in my arms. She wraps her arms around me and nuzzles her head into my neck.

"It's okay Crona, I promise nothing's gonna happen to me. I'll stay with you forever and we'll ive a safe and happy life." Her words are slightly muffled as they vibrate against my skin. "That's my promise to you."

I let out a relieved sigh as I let her go. "Hand me one of those apples will ya?" I pick up the apples and give her the less bruised one as we both sit down to eat. They tasted sweet, and only after I'd eaten half do I ask. "How did you get these?"

She gives a little grin. "I stole them from a store. It was actually really easy, I just took the sticker off and hid them under my dress."

"W-why did you do that Maka? We have the money you took from your dad right?" I ask her putting down my apple core.

"Yeah I still have some." She takes out the wad of crumpled bills and starts counting them. "$52 to be exact. But we shouldn't go spending it unless we absolutely have to, we've got to make this last until we find jobs."

"Jobs?" I've never thought of getting a job before, Lady Medusa always told me that my only goal in life was to become a Kishin.

Maka nods. "Yeah, we'll have to find jobs of some kind."

"But we're to young, I thought only adults can get jobs?"

Her brow knits together. "Yeah you're right... Maybe we ca-" she gets cut off by the shattering of glass.

"Wh-what was that!?" I jump up with Ragnarok already in sword mode in my hand. "Don't worry Maka, I'll protect you!"

"Hey let's go check it out!" She says running around the corner to where the sound emanated crime, leaving me with my jaw hanging open.

"M-Maka!?" I say before running off after her. "Wait for me!"

She runs back and grabs onto my hand, hauling me behind her. She's a lot stronger then I would have expected. When we reach a corner she comes to a stop and whispers. "The sound came from around this corner." She looks back at me and sees I have Ragnarok in weapon form. "Good thinking!"

I nod. "We'll go on three. One... Two... Three!" We jump out from around the corner. I'm scared but I'm ready to fight for Maka.

It's two boys. They both look around Maka and I's age, one has scarlet red eyes, white hair, and shark like teeth. The other has golden eyes, and black hair with three white stripes in it. Their clothes are rumpled and dirty, and they have scraps and bruises on all over. The white haired one turns around, broken bottle in hand. "Who're you?"

My grip on Ragnarok tightens at the sight of the sharp, jagged edges of the bottle. "We don't want any trouble." The voice that comes out of me is stronger then I've heard before.

Shark tooth boy looks at me quizzically and then at the bottle in his hand. A wide grin suddenly breaks out on his face and I ready myself for his attack. The he starts laughing.

"Relax kid, we where just having some fun breaking these bottles." The notion that anyone could find meaningless destruction fun is lost to me. "My names Soul Eater Evans, and this is my buddy Death the Kid."

The golden eyed boy nods to us. His eye is twitching as he looks at me. "Wh-what?"

"You're haircut, it's so... UNSYMMETRICAL!"

"Um... Okay..." I rub a strand of my hair in between my fingers. 'I didn't think it looked that bad...'

"I'm Maka, and this is Crona." Maka introduces us both to the strange boys. "Why where you breaking bottles for fun?"

Kid steps up to Maka quickly. Is he blushing? "I wasn't actually breaking the bottles Soul was. I just make sure the shattered pieces are as symmetrical as possible. He does that-"

"Because it's the only thing a street kid can do around here." Soul interrupts him. "Speaking if which are you to...?"

"Crona and I ran away from home together." Maka says, grabbing onto my hand. I swear I see Kids frown before going back to a neutral expression.

"You're gonna do good out here if you keep up that cutesy act." Soul says smirking. "Rich people always give big bucks to the cute ones."

"What?" I ask gripping Makas a little possessively. I swear Kid is staring at her. He can't stare at her, Maka is my friend, he can't steal her from me.

"You know, you go around looking all cute, ask the people for money, maybe offer then a shoe shine or something. Maka should be okay, they always give money to girls cause they feel sorry for them, and..." He gives me a once over which I find kinda creepy. "You're cute enough."

"If you like we could help you out, me and Soul have been living on the streets for a while now, we know quite a bit." Kid offers us. No he offer Maka, not me. He likes her. I want to decline his offer, bit at the same time I know that I have to know these kinds of things to keep Maka safe, and to protect her. She looks over at me as if making sure and I nod.

"Thank you, we'd really appreciate that." Maka says. Kid smiles, and I feel something in my stomach churn. I really don't like the way e looks at Maka. We follow them to where they live. It's a large garbage bin that hasn't been used in years and is relatively clean. We spend the whole day talking about the best places to get money, how to pick pocket, where and where not to steal from, what alley ways to go through if you're being chased, etc.. We spend the night there. I can see Kid looking at Maka all through dinner, as that same churning in my stomach comes again. I don't know how to deal with this feeling, it's so new and foreign. I know I do enjoy the look he gets when Maka cuddles up to me when we lay down to go to sleep.

"Good night Crona, sweet dreams." She whispers to me as her breathing steadies into a soft lull signaling her slumber.

I stare at her sleep softened features and press my forehead to hers. 'I hope they are...'

**Review and Rating very, very, appreciated!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry for the long wait. School is a terribly thing. In this one we meet Asura. Just so you know Asura is younger then he is in the anime because he can change his age (like Mosquito) and wanted to be with his little brother. (And get him to join the bad side :D.)**

With the Innocence of a Child.

**Ch. 3: In the Store**

It's sunny here. Warm and bright. The soft grass underneath me feels nice, cooling my warm skin. She holds my had as I gaze into her emerald eyes. The wind picks up her hair, the petals of a daisy chain scattering in the breeze. Her lips form words that turn into a sweet melody, and I smile. She caresses my cheek lovingly, and I lean into the touch. It's soft and smooth like cream against my cheek making me want the moment to last forever.

"I love you Crona." She whispers softly.

"I love you Maka."

A dream, such a nice dream. I always thought sweet dreams was a strange expression but people are right, it really does leave you with a sweet taste in your mouth. Kind of like watermelon. Like watermelon, and pink lemonade. I've only ever had those once before, when I was six, Lady Medusa was in a good mood and she took to the beach. I'd never seen so much water. She bought me chilled watermelon, and pink lemonade. It was so sweet, my teeth hurt, and she laughed when I complained. I'd never heard my mother laugh before. It was a soft, airy sort of laugh, almost like she was tired. It was the happiest I'd ever been with her... But that's just a memory, it's not who she is anymore.

"Crona. Hey, Crona are you awake?" Maka shakes me lightly.

I smack my lips together and the sweet taste is gone. "Yeah I'm awake."

She smiles. "Good! Kid and Soul are going to show us around, and introduce us to some I'd the other street kids."

"There are more kids?" I remember back to what the sales man said, about being tired of street urchins begging for food. "Are there a lot?"

"I don't know, but Kid said we'd get to meat his older brother." She says excitedly. "He's fifteen!"

'Kids older brother. Ooo, Crona you know what they say about girls liking older guys, looks like you've got more competition.' Ragnarok mocks inside my head.

'Shut it Ragnarok!' I tell at him. Maka looks at me funny but I just smile.

"Come on you two lets get breakfast and then go meet up with the gang." Soul yells at us from the entrance of the ally.

"The gang?" Maka asks as we walk over to them, out into the sun lit streets. It's still early morning but already people are moving around. I can tell a few on bicycles are DWMA students. They ride by so fast, smiling with such purpose. I wish I could smile like that.

"Yeah the broken bottle gang, pretty cool right!?" Soul chuckles.

"We're not called the broken bottle gang. We're not even a gang at all!" Kid punches Soul in the arm to emphasize what he says. He turns back to look at us. "We're just a bunch of kids who hang out and do stupid shit. It's nothing cool at all really."

'What a weird guy he acts like he's so humble.' Ragnarok whispers in my head. 'Don't ya think Crona?'

I can't help but chuckle. Kid scowls at me before blushing and turning around. Weird.

"So where are we going to eat?" Maka asks. Her hand is firmly grasping mine, just like in my dream it's soft.

"The groceries store of course." Soul answers. "You'd be amazed at how easy it is to steal food, as long as no one's watching."

"Don't worry, we'll show you the ropes." Kid finishes.

"I bet this'll be really fun!" Maka smiles.

"Okay Mama, we'll meet you in the dairy section!" Kid cries out to no one in particular. "Maka grab that little kids shopping cart."

Maka does as she's asked. It's double hold one so we both push. "Why did you say that Kid?"

"Rule number one of not getting caught stealing, you need to have a sort of alibi for why you're here, and why you don't have an adult with you."

"Makes sense." I nod in understanding.

"Rule number two, if you get asked where you're parents are answer one of two ways." Soul interjects. "If it's someone in normal street clothes, tell them, 'My mommy told me not to talk to strangers.' If it's someone with a store shirt on you say, 'The dairy section.' Any questions?"

"What do we do if we're in the dairy section?" Maka asks.

"Say the noodle section." Soul answers. "Idiot adults eat it up when you say cutesy shit like that."

She nods with a determined look. I just nod weakly. 'This is a lot to take in.'

"Rule number three." Kid continues. "Only eat food that can be replaced in packaging or the bar code can be remover. I.e. breads, fruits, vegetables, pastries, and best of all, free samples. That is the best thing we street kids get, and if you're cute, which you two are, they'll just let you keep eating till them things are gone."

"Okay well break up into groups, Maka you come with me and Crona you go with Kid. Everyone okay with that?" Soul asks.

My throat squeezes shut and I grasp desperately for Makas hand. Separated from the only thing in my life that's ever made me truly happy, I don't know how to deal with that. I can't!

Sensing my distress Maka takes my hand and rubs it against her cheek, her other hand resting on mine. "It'll be okay Crona, well he apart for just a little while. I promised nothing's gonna go wrong."

I take a few deep breathe before slowly nodding my head. She smiles, and standing on tiptoes, places a kiss on my forehead. The feeling that my entire body has turned to liquid is so powerful for a second I think it might really have happened.

"You'll be fine, I'll be fine, everything will be fine don't worry." She whispers one last time before heading off with Soul.

I stand there for a few seconds before Kid brings me back to earth. "Come on lover boy."

We walk over to the fruit and vegetable section and stand off to the side. "If anyone asks you're waiting for the water to spray the vegetables."

We wait for a solid five minutes before Kid finally starts talking again. "What you do is take a couple piece of fruit and put them into a bag, and then move on to another section of the aisle. Then eat one piece of fruit- make sure NO ONE sees you eat it- an then make you're way back to the aisle and put the fruit back. If anyone asks, say, 'My mommy didn't want these.' Got it?"

"Got it." We split up and collect the food for a few minutes. We get a few odd look but no one stops us. After I've eaten two apples and half a carrot (Ragnarok ate three apples, four grapes, and two carrots) we regroup and sit down at a food court section.

We sit in silence for a few minutes before Kid finally speaks. "Maka really likes you."

I blush and duck my head down. "Sh-she's just being nice."

"I've met lots of girls and when they look at you like that-" he sighs. "It means they're not just being nice."

"Y-you think so?" I whisper.

All of a sudden he leans over and kisses me on the forehead.

"W-W-W-W-W-WHAT!" I scream at him. I try to get away from him but I fall back off my chair.

He leans over the table and looks at me blankly. "You okay?"

"W-Why did you do that!?" I tell at him.

He smirks. "Indirect kiss."

"What?"

He sighs again but keeps smiling, leaning back into his chair. "I got an indirect kiss from Maka. I kissed where she kissed you, so that's an indirect kiss. Don't you know anything?"

I'm at a loss for words.

"Since my chances of making it with Maka are pretty slim, I might as well get a kiss from her somehow, and if that's as close as I can get, so be it."

"U-um... I... uh... O-Okay...?" I stutter.

"Come on let's get back to Maka and Soul." He says before walking off. I stumble after him, still in a daze. 'This guy is weird.'

We make it back to Maka and Soul. I run over to Maka and hold her hand tightly. She looks at me with concern. "Did something happen?"

"N-no, nothing happened." I laugh out akwardly. 'No way am I telling her what actually happened.'

"Hey look what I snagged." She whispers to me pulling a chunk of bread out of her pocket.

"Maka!" I whisper yell at her. "We're not supposed to take the food out of the aisles with us. What if someone s-"

At that moment a large man comes up behind Maka and spins her around. "Aha! I knew you lousy urchins where stealing food!" He grabs onto Makas wrist and I see her wince.

"Let me go mister, you're hurting me!" She cries out. Before I can summon Ragnarok the man falls forward.

"Oh Death, I can't leave you kids alone without having you run into some sort of trouble." A tall boy wearing many scarves said. I still feel the strong urge that this guy is dangerous but he helps Maka stand up and dusts her off. He seems nice enough.

"Let me see your wrist sweetheart." Maka holds out her wrist to the boy. He inspects it thoroughly, observing the dark bruise that had so quickly formed. Then suddenly his scarves wrap around her wrist as bandages and he places a light peck on it. "There all better."

I can see Maka blushing. An overwhelming feeling starts in the pit of my stomach, rising into my fists, blurring my vision. "Stay away from Maka!" I step in between the strange man and Maka and he looks at me quizzically.

"Relax kid, little girls aren't my thing." He says casually then looks over at Kid. "These more recruits?"

"Why do you have to say it like that? If you mean that they're street kids then yes they are." Kid answers with a sigh.

"Not to interrupt this wonderful conversation but shouldn't we get out of here? You know since that giant scary guys'll probably be waking up soon." Soul intervenes. We all look over at the mumbling unconcious man and nod.

"Let's get back to the Main Alley, the others are waiting for us." The stranger says.

"W-wait, I'm not going anywhere until I know who you are." I say with as much determination as I can muster. I look back to see Maka. She nods in support.

"Who am I?" He says. "I'm Asura."

It's 1:53 a.m. And I cannot sleep, so I decided to write this entire chapter, so sorry that it's shorter the most. Hope you all enjoyed Rate and Review.


	4. Chapter 4

**Merry Christmas! Ugh, I hate my life. Hope you don't hate this. I've gotten a few questions about why Crona isn't as timid as he is in the manga/anime. This is when he was younger, before all of his spirit was taken away. Please keep that in mind.**

**With the Innocence of a Child**

**Ch 4: The Gang**

Asura has black hair, with white streaks in it, that almost look like eyes. Stranger still he had three real eyes, the third right in the middle of his forehead, all fresh blood red. It really freaks me out, makes me feel like he was always watching me. I make sure to stay close to Maka, I don't like the way he talked to her, even if he said he wasn't into little girls. 'No matter what it means I wouldn't lose Maka, even if I have to kill a person. I'll protect her.'

"So what're you're names? Guess I should have asked that a little earlier, but seeing as we where in the middle of escaping from the store security, it kinda slipped my mind." Asura looks back, giving me and Maka a wink.

"I'm Maka Albarn, an this is Crona Gorgon." Maka says excitedly. How can she be so cheerful today. I look over at her bandaged wrist, frowning deeply. I failed her, I couldn't protect her, Asura did, Asura protected her, Asura saved her, all I did was stand by and watch her get hurt!

I don't realize I'm crying until Maka stops pulling me to a stop with her. She looks at me with those caring, concerned eyes. She waits until the others are a little ways away before asking in a soft whisper. "What's wrong Crona?"

I sniffle and shake my head, wiping my tears away furiously. My eyes turn red from the abusing treatment and Maka touches my arm softly. "Stop that, please don't hurt yourself. You can tell me anything. Do you not want to go with the boys to meet the gang? If you don't want to we don't have to. I promised you in the beginning it's you and me, we don't need anyone else."

I look up at her, my eyes still puffy. "R-Really? You'd do that for me?"

She holds out her pinky finger, smiling widely. "Partners till the very end, right?

I stare at the tiny appendage before wrapping my own around it. I smile nodding vigorously, fresh tears, this time of joy, streaming down my face. Then I crack open. "Maka, I'm so sorry!" My smile breaks and I weep again in sadness. "I couldn't protect you from that man, h-he could have hurt you, and I just stood there! I'm so sorry Maka, I'm a worthless disgrace! I don't deserve to have you as a friend!"

She suddenly grabs my hands and tugs me forward into a hard embrace. "Don't ever say that, not EVER again!" She pulls back slightly to look me in the eyes. Hers are brining with certainty, an behind that I can see a deep sadness. "Crona you are the kindest, sweetest, most selfless person I've ever met, and you don't deserve to have such hateful words thrown at you, especially not by yourself. You're a wonderful person who deserves nothing but love and happiness, and it will be my soul duty to give you both. I'll protect you Crona, and you'll protect me, we'll protect each other. I swear it on my life, so you better never second guess that, got it?"

The tears have stopped as she spoke, and a single drop falls as I speak. "Got it."

She smiles and takes my hand. "Now let's go before the others think we bailed."

"Okay!" We run after the three boys, now a good distance was from us. We reach them short of breath, legs aching slightly.

"We thought you two would never catch up." Asura quips with a smirk. I glare at him but say nothing. His smirk just grows wider. "Come on we're just a ways away from the hangout."

"You're gonna love it Maka, it's this little tucked away area with lots of candles, and there's this old junker car, I don't know how it got there, but it's really cool, and people take turns sleeping in it." Soul explains his eyes twinkling. The way he talks about the place you'd think it was some paradise. "And there are animals to, cats dogs, rabbits, raccoons, mice, snakes, all kinds if things."

My blood freezes.

"No snakes." I whisper hoarsely.

"What was that?" Soul asks, looking at me confused.

"I said, No Snakes!" I shout at him with more malice then I knew I had. "If I see even one I'll cut it head off!"

Soul just stares at me wide eyed. "Relax dude, snakes are pretty rare in death city, we probably won't even see them this time of year."

I nod in understanding. "Sorry I just... Don't know how to deal with snakes."

"It's okay Crona." Asura says with a grimace. "We all have our fears."

His statement confuses me but I brush it off along with my anger. It's to cold out for snakes to be around anyway.

The place was, for lack of a better word, junk. Literally made up of junk. The candles where all half used or broken in some way, old thrown away chairs and tires used as seats and resting places. The junker car had it's entire front half smashed in and the windshield was completely broken. There was a small faucet with a torn up, hole covered hose attached to it where some children where bathing. The age range looked to be from two to eighteen years old. The "little area" was the size of a large hotel lobby, but much less appealing.

"This place is-"

"Magical!" Maka cut in before I could say that it was a dump. Asura got a wide prideful grin on his face. "Why thank you little lady, I did it all myself when I was around your age."

"Wow really!?" Makas eyes has a sheen of admiration to them. My insides churn. This guy was such an cocky jerk.

"That's right, why don't I give you the grand tour." He holds out his hand for her to take. Before she does she looks at me and I give my best fake smile and nod. She walks off with him and I'm left with Soul and Kid.

"Better keep an eye on her Crona, Asura is a really ladies man." Soul nudges me with his shoulder.

"Oh please, she's seven years to under then him, he'd never go for it." Kid interjects.

"But Maka's a real cutie, she could make any guy fall head over heels for her, right Crona?"

I swallow the lump in my throat and take a few deep breathes. "M-Maka will be f-fine." My voice squeaks a little from my nervousness. 'Maka would never fall for a guy like that, he's just some pervy older guy."

'And what does that make you?' Ragnarok asks snickering. 'A pervy little guy?'

"Shut up!" I bark out before I realizing I said it out loud. "Eh heh, s-so um, tell me about this place."

Souls eyes light up and her puts an arm around my shoulder. "We'll like I told you before, this place is the hang out for all street kids. We come here and sleep, eat, party, all kinds of shit. Let me give you the low down on all the regulars. Let's see... Oh, that guy over there, he's Giriko, you wanna stay away from that guy."

The man he points to, Giriko, is a tall ginger, probably 16, with many piercing a wearing large gloves. He talked to a few kids and as he did I noticed sharp teeth, much like Souls. His eyes never stayed in one place for long.

"He's the local drug dealer, and a chainsaw weapon, so just steer clear of him. The kid he's talking to is Gopher, real weirdo, obsessed with this druggie Noah, man he hangs around Giriko just to try and see him." Soul scoffs as he looks at the the black haired boy. He then runs his attention to two blondes beating up a boy. One has long hair the other short, they appear to be the picture of American woman. "Those two are the Thompson sisters, they're our age, and boy they are scary. They'll beat you for your money without a second thought. Their gun weapons and they use a tag team system to gang up on people."

I shiver as a tooth flies from the boys mouth. 'Those two really are scary.'

"Those two girls with the animal hats." He nods his head to a tall girl with platinum blond hair wearing a frog face witches hat and a short girl in black and white with painted mouse whiskers. "That's Euruka and Mizune, but we just frog and mouse. They're witches but they're total weaklings."

Suddenly a tall woman in a skimpy outfit comes up to me. She smells like liquor and... Tuna?

"Heeeey, cutie!" Her purple hair swings lazily along with her breasts. "You wanna have some fun!?"

"He's good Blair." Soul says leading me away from the drunk. "Blair's the local drunk bimbo, she'll do just about anything for a drink. Well I think that's about everyone, we get a few others some days, but those are the regulars."

I nod slowly as we sit down on a pair of rubber tires. "So how long have you been on the streets Soul?"

He leans back before letting out a sigh. "Four years? Yeah that sounds about right. I ran away after my brother moved away. He was the coolest guy you'll ever meet, string handsome, got all the chicks." Soul smiles reminiscing about his brother.

At that mi ute another brother shows up with Maka.

"The little lady hear sure is a sweetie." Asura coos, patting Makas head.

"Asura." She squeaks blushing. "Stop it."

The feeling of heat burning inside my body, boiling my black blood into steam, over comes me.

"Maka, come sit by me?" Asura asks.

She looks over at me and smiles. "Sorry Asura, but I was already gonna sit with Crona."

A blush spreads to my cheeks and a swelling sensation starts in my heart, growing with each beautiful word.

"He's my first priority." Maka smiles at me, and the swelling burst inside my chest and I smile back. This is low. I know I'm in love with Maka, and I will always love her, because she's not just beautiful, not just my first friend, not even because she's the most important person in my life. I love her because she feels the same way about me, and she has no reason to, she's payed me her kindness, she could have left me for dead, but she does it because she loves me just as much as I love her.

She plops down next to me and opens her hand to take mine, without hesitation I give it to her and we stay like that for a long while. I start to get tired, and before I know it I'm asleep.

'I'm so cold.'

The darkness, it's all around me.

'I'm so cold, where am I?'

I can't see, I can't hear, I can't even speak. All my senses have been cut off.

'I can't breathe!'

I claw at my throat trying to breathe, only making a giant hole in my neck.

"You shouldn't have run away Crona."

Her voice echoes all throughout my head as I drowned in my own blood.

"Crona, Crona! Crona wake up!" I'm shot awake by my nightmare and Maka calling out my name. "They're having a dance!"

"W-What?" I ask, heart still pounding in my chest.

"A dance! Come on." She pulls my to my feet, all around people are twirling and moving and shaking their bodies. At first I just stand there and watch as Maka shakes her head an hips and arms, all to the beat of some strange music. Then she takes my hands in hers and we start to twirl and spin, all in a beautiful unity. This is such a perfect moment I forget about my nightmare. Then I hear the screaming of a single word.

"COPS!"

**Rate and Reviews greatly appreciated.**


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